Edgefield Town
Council
Considers
Budget, Mayor
Comments on 1%
Sales TaxBy Anne
Waits
web posted
April 9, 2014EDGEFIELD
– Edgefield Town
Council met
Monday night
with Council
approving
several requests
from community
members and
Mayor Ken Durham
handing out
copies of Draft
Budget FY2014-15
to Council
members to take
home and look
over.
"The department
heads,
Charlotte, we
all worked hard
on this budget,
with them
commenting and
offering
suggestions,"
said the mayor.
"It is a good,
solid budget"

"We have a few
issues with
insurance,
things like that
that everyone
has to fight
through. You
will see some
pretty large
increases in a
couple of those
items. We were
able to get
another police
car budgeted for
this year. You
will see a large
item in there.
too, our fire
department
pagers. We are
having a lot of
issues, have
been for years.
A lot of firemen
are not getting
their messages.
We budgeted for
new pagers. Go
through it and
call me with any
questions and we
will sit down
and go over it,"
Durham said.

Following the
adoption of the
minutes from
March 3, 2014
and the
financial report
for March 2014,
Council heard
from Beth
Padgett, a
member of
Edgefield
Community
Development
Association, who
was requesting
permission to
hold a Cruise-In
in the downtown
area on
Saturday, July
19, 2014 from 4
to 7 p.m.

"This would be a
place for owners
of classic and
antique cars to
drive and show
off their cars,
meet new friends
and enjoy being
together," she
said. "The one
that is held in
Washington, Ga.
each year is one
of the best and
has been quite
successful. I'm
hoping to
attract people
to our town and
make them want
to come back."

Padgett said the
Cruise-In would
use the Square
and Main Street
and she would be
putting in a
request for Park
Row Market and
Edgefield
Billard Parlor
to stay open, as
well as other
groups to come
in to provide
refreshments.
WJES has said
they could be
there with their
live remote, she
said.

"We will need a
Port-O-Let
because it
wouldn't be fair
to have people
running in and
out of the
businesses just
to use the
bathroom," she
said. "Also, we
will need money
for advertising
and a banner."

ECDA has agreed
to donate money,
as well as
several
businesses.
Padgett said she
will be
contacting other
businesses also,
"We are asking
the Town to
sponsor as
well," she said.
"We figure we
will need around
$1,500 to put it
all together."
She mentioned a
50/50 raffle
with the winner
taking half and
the other half
going to ECDA.

Padgett said
they expect at
least 100 cars
to show up, as
well as trucks
and motorcycles.
Padgett has been
successful with
cruise-ins at
her home for
several years,
with 40 to 45
cars showing up.
"This is not a
car show," she
said. "It is a
cruise-in, and
we're hoping to
get clubs and
individuals from
Aiken, Augusta,
Columbia and
Greenwood, as
well as
Edgefield
County."

Council voted to
match ECDA's
contribution up
to $500.

Durham said she
will need to
meet with Police
Chief Ronnie
Carter soon to
see about
detouring
traffic from the
downtown area
for the event.

Council further
approved a
request from
Thomas Herlong
to grant
permission to
place a banner
at Town Hall to
advertise a
National Day of
Prayer, May 1,
2014.

They also
approved a
request from
David Satcher,
with Edgefield
Chapter SCV Camp
1532, granting
permission to
place a
Confederate flag
and wreath on
the Town Square
in recognition
of Confederate
Memorial Day,
May 10, 2014,
with Council
members Jasper
Lloyd and and
Otis Yeldell
voting against
the request.

Under new
business,
Councilman
Yeldell asked
what, if
anything, could
be done about
buzzards
attacking cars
in some portions
of the town.

The mayor said
that was the
second report he
had heard of
birds attacking
cars. He first
made a joke and
said, "Shoot
them. We live in
the south," then
on a more
serious note
said to call
Chief Ronnie
Carter and he
could go out and
do something
about them.

Under the
mayor's report,
he stated there
will be a
Heritage Jubilee
meeting at 6
p.m. on April 17
at Town Hall and
that Sunrise
Services will be
held at Slades
Lake on Easter
Sunday morning.

He further
stated that the
One Percent
Capital Sales
Tax proposed by
the County did
not pass. "I
want you all to
understand our
effort in this,"
he said. "It was
initiated by the
County. We were
asked several
times to give
two members to a
committee and
whether we were
for the tax or
not, I thought
it was our
responsibility
to provide two
members. If the
County was going
to pass the tax,
then Edgefield
needed to get
their fair
share, get a
project in. If
you see Beth
Worth or Craig
McMullin--they
worked a lot of
hard hours on
this trying to
do what they
thought the
County was
asking for. They
were doing what
the County was
asking for. It
just didn't turn
out."

He added that it
had been
reported that he
stormed out of a
meeting mad and
he did not storm
out mad, he had
a fire
department
meeting that
he'd done for a
long time.

"The committee
did a good job,"
he said.
"Councilman Dorn
is here and he
let everybody
know he wasn't
voting to start
with and he
didn't change
his mind. My
preference would
have been to
table it that
night. If you
didn't want them
to spend $8
million or
whatever amount
over 7
years--some said
they could go
two years--then
give the
committee
redirection.
Say, 'Let's put
substations in
the fire
department,
let's put a
medical
facility
in the
Merriwether
section and
let's upgrade
some of the
recreation.'
I've have been
prerfectly okay
with that--with
half the money
or a third of
the money over a
two year or
three year
period."

He said if he
was disappointed
at all it was
because it just
died on the vine
after all that
work without at
least taking one
last step. He
said he wasn't
mad at the
County for
voting against
it or for
bringing it up,
he just felt it
was a lot of
wasted time
without taking
that one little
dash to the
finish line.

He said some of
the Councilmen
didn't like the
amount of time,
some didn't like
the amount of
money and others
didn't like the
projects.

"But as our
members were
developing these
lists, the
chairman was
getting the
lists," he said.
"They were
looking at the
lists. The
committee
thought they had
given them a
list that they
liked--we had
public input out
here. And then
the comments
were that there
were too many
wants and not
enough needs. I
just wanted
everyone to be
clear on our
role in the
whole process."

Following
executive
session, Council
voted to fill a
vacant slot in
the Public Works
Department with
Macon Campbell,
a former Town
employee.